Morten Tyldum is also a relative newbie (Imitation Game, his fourth feature, is his first in English, and by the way, Selma is DuVernay's third feature), he made a by the book docudrama if ever there was one, and he got a nomination.

Here's my take, if anybody reads this far: Hollywood is filled with people who are insecure and faddish – and I live in L.A. and work in the industry, so I'm not just pontificating. For Academy voters, you simply have to tell them what's "in" this season – especially if you invite them to a few parties – and they'll…

I think the snub hurts a bit more this year because in a rare moment, the Academy has otherwise agreed with many critics' and film fans' picks for the best pictures of 2014: Boyhood, Whiplash and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Racing Stripes is packed to the rafters with Auschwitz jokes.

Despite what Dowd says, If The Babadook somehow made $200 million, Essie Davis' performance would have received loads of mainstream entertainment buzz, and that would have easily led to an Oscar nomination.

I'm ambivalent towards Obvious Child. On the one hand, I thought it was honest - standup comedians are generally pretty obnoxious in real life - and Slate gave a fine performance. But the movie's general obsession with shit was weird and distracting, and I like potty jokes as much as the next 3rd grader.

It's actually #1 this week. And I was thinking the same thing.

I went to England and was very disappointed that the Exe and Wye Rivers did not meet. Another golden opportunity blown by the limeys.

But are there sound effects?

Maybe not, but they're often vying for the same woman: I saw them having a three-way with Kathy Griffin at a Hollywood party. All I can say is… :(

Don't forget Freeway. "Sexo! Sexo! Muy buena!"

Spider-Man 3 is still at least 50 times more enjoyable to watch than Oz the Great and Powerful.

Agreed, which may cycle back to Riley 1066's cranky comment that the list is "pompous".

This is what I usually think about critics' year-end lists - they can be like record store clerks out-obscuring each other. ("This only played at one film festival in Guanajuato, there were 3 people in the audience, the director destroyed all existing copies after the screening, and it's the best film I've seen in my…

If you live in LA, the Cinefamily offers such a deal. $25 a month gives you unlimited movies and free popcorn. The catch: you have to sign up for a year, so, $300 total. But if you go once a week or more, it's a good deal.

Very sad that Ken Kwapis wasn't covered in this.

I guess this means they will introduce a Latino character, let him hang out with the gang for a few episodes, then kill him off in time to introduce another Latino character.

"Let's discover this long-lost Christmas cartoon right before Christmas." – Devious Norwegians

The Diff'rent Strokes curse strikes again. All we have left is Todd Bridges, Danny Cooksey, and Charlotte Rae, still getting more work than any of her costars.

He is premiering such a movie, Strange Magic, ironically during Sundance's first weekend, but not at Sundance itself. I'm sure it's a publicity tie-in, though.